General NBA insight – Page 126 – NBA Blog

Thunder help Durant, Ibaka prepare for All-Star events

John Rohde of The Oklahoman reports:

Thunder players stayed on the court an extra 30 minutes after Wednesday’s practice and set up a trial run for Kevin Durant, who will compete in the 3-point contest during All-Star Weekend.

Durant had 16 points in his first go-round after a slow start. Daequan Cook, the league’s 2009 3-point contest winner, was off the mark and got booed by teammates. All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook, who went 4 for 4 on 3-pointers at Utah last Saturday night, had 23 points before running out of time with two balls still left in the final rack and received a standing ovation. Westbrook is an All-Star reserve and potentially could participate in the Skills Challenge.

Teammates then helped forward Serge Ibaka prepare for the dunk contest, the details of which Thunder players have asked to remain privileged.

“Thunder U is in full force today,” Brooks said, shaking his head as dozen players continued with their post-practice recess.

Video of Justin Bieber playing basketball

Teen pop superstar Justin Bieber is loved worldwide. If you listen to the buzz, he invented water. He made gravity. He’s done other stuff too.

Justin Bieber also loves playing basketball. He’ll be in the NBA Celebrity game at 2011 All-Star weekend.

Here’s a video of him flaunting some skills on the court:

Fan discussion of Justin Bieber playing basketball is in this forum topic.

Opinion: Halfway through season, LeBron playing like MVP

At the start of the season, many in the basketball world figured that with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade playing on the same team, neither one would have a real shot at winning the 2010-11 NBA MVP award because their stats would be lowered. Chris Bosh being on the Heat as well factors into it as well, of course.

Yet now, in early February, LeBron is steadily emerging as the league favorite to capture the award again.

Chris Perkins of Fox Sports Florida reports:

Miami (38-14) is winning. That’s the biggest requirement for the MVP. The Heat is only a half-game behind Boston (38-13), which is almost the unanimous pick to win the Eastern Conference.

And James is producing. He’s averaging 26.4 points per game (second in the NBA), 7.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists. For his career he averages 27.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 7.0 assists. So there’s been no big statistical sacrifice by joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form Miami’s Big Three.

Plus, James has already won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month Award twice (actually, he shared it with Wade in January), and he has the NBA’s highest-scoring game of the season with his 51-point outburst at Orlando. James has made the Heat better and he’s made his teammates better.

The other MVP candidates? Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant, the league’s leading scorer at 29 ppg, is probably the favorite. Durant also averages 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

If I had to vote today, I’d go with LeBron for sure, especially the way he’s on fire over his last 10 games.

Opinion: I support Kevin Durant participating in 3-point shootout

By Jeff Lenchiner

The participants for the 2011 NBA three-point shootout were announced today, and I was glad to see that Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant was included.

Currently the NBA’s leading scorer with a 29.0 points per game average, Durant is hitting just 34.7 percent of his threes. There are plenty of other players with a better percentage. But the vast majority of them are reserves who simply do not spark interest in the event. And many of them only hit threes at such a good rate because stars like Durant are drawing the defensive attention that clears space for them to get open outside looks.

If I have a choice of seeing Durant or a much lesser player who is in a supporting role on a team with a losing record, then give me Durant. I’m sure most fans around the world tuning in for the big weekend would agree.

Jeff Lenchiner is the editor of InsideHoops.com. Fans are discussing the participants in this forum topic.

Carmelo Anthony Scores 50 in loss to Rockets

The AP reports:

Kevin Martin scored 37 points and the Houston Rockets took advantage of Nene’s absence and Chauncey Billups’ early exit to beat the Denver Nuggets 108-103 Monday night despite Carmelo Anthony’s 50-point effort that tied his career high.

Martin, who had just eight points in his previous trip to Denver, scored 18 in the decisive third quarter, half of them during a 13-0 run the Rockets used to grab control at 71-56. He started and ended the run with buckets to go with a fast-break basket and a 3-pointer.

Luis Scola chipped in 25 points for the Rockets, who handed Denver its seventh loss in 28 home games…

The Nuggets started the game without Nene (flu), and Billups left after straining his left knee in the first quarter. He was replaced by Ty Lawson, who underwent an MRI on Monday on his strained left knee and scored 19 points.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Melo shot 16-of-24 with two three-pointers and hit 16-of-18 free throws for 50 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. He had no assists and four turnovers.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

D`Antoni wants to keep developing Mozgov

The New York Knicks hosted the Philadelphia 76ers today. Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni continues to prefer that Amar’e Stoudemire play power forward, alongside the closest thing to a legit center the team has, which lately has been Timofey Mozgov.

Chris Sheridan of ESPN reports:

Coach Mike D’Antoni revealed before the game that he envisions a day when Timofey Mozgov (three points, eight rebounds, three blocks) will be the Knicks’ full-time starter at center. “We would like to get to the point where we have a big lineup out there with Mozgov. We probably started a little too early, and I could have gone to it now, but again I think we’re making a lot out of nothing in the sense that lineups will change until we become a contender. And you have guys who are solidified in that position who have played together 4-5 years, then you have to stick with what you’ve got.

“Right now we’re in the process of building a team for the future and trying to make the playoffs at the same time, and guys will mature at different rates and they’ll have up and downs,” D’Antoni said. “It’s just a little scary when you start two rookies and trying to get into the playoffs against teams that have been together for a while, and you just have to be careful with it.”

I definitely don’t think Mozgov has the starting center spot on a permanent basis, but for the time being it sounds like the job is his to lose.

Tony Parker disappointed at not making All-Star team

Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News reports:

Acknowledging he was disappointed at not being added to the team, Parker was gracious, and remained hopeful he might land a spot when NBA commissioner David Stern replaces injured Yao Ming, voted the starting center.

Stern is not required to replace Yao with a center, and the West team includes a strong group of big men.

“Of course, I’m disappointed,” Parker said, “Everybody who made it deserved it, but of course I’m disappointed.

“There’s still one left. We’ll see what happens with that. But I’m just going to ? focus on helping this team win as many games as we can.”

Parker said he was grateful for the support he had gotten from teammates who say he deserved to have been selected.

Spurs half-court offense is fun

Zach Lowe of the Sports Illustrated blog reports:

No team is more fun to watch in the halfcourt, with all the side-to-side movement, backdoor cuts and swinging of the ball. Watch for this one, a personal favorite: Tony Parker and DeJuan Blair will run a pick-and-roll at the top of the three-point arc while Richard Jefferson relaxes on the left wing above the three-point line and Manu Ginobili sprints his way to the left corner, near Jefferson. If Parker penetrates, Jefferson’s guy may sag down toward the foul line to help.

As that happens, Jefferson will drift slightly to the left. Even worse for that poor defender: Tim Duncan will creep up toward the foul line area, position himself between Jefferson and Jefferson’s defender and set a back-screen. When RJ’s defender turns to scurry back out to Jefferson, he’ll run right into Duncan’s chest.

Parker will then kick the ball out to Jefferson, who can either shoot an open triple or — if Ginobili’s man rotates out to him — shoot a pass to Ginobili in the left corner. Gorgeous hoops.

Raja Bell in shooting slump

Jody Genessy of the Deseret News reports:

Bell’s 7.9 points per game average is the lowest since he scored 3.1 ppg during the 2002-03 campaign in Dallas.

More concerning, though, is how Bell hasn’t scored more than five points in seven games, and that he has only hit four of his last 26 field-goal attempts.

Bell can pinpoint the problem — or the “hitch” — in the release of his shot.

“There’s a rhythm thing that’s going on with me and so the drills like that help me to remember to keep it up,” Bell said. “When I miss, I usually miss flat.”

The back-to-basics drills remind him to follow through high and to leave his hand up.

Notes from Mavericks Jan. 29 win over Hawks

Notes from Dallas Mavericks 102-91 win over Atlanta Hawks Friday, January 29, 2011

TONIGHT’S KEY RUN: With the score knotted at 79, Dallas used a 14-3 run from the 10:24 mark of the fourth quarter until the 8:07 mark of the period to take an 11-point advantage (93-82) en route to the win.

NOTES

For the second consecutive game (second time this season) seven Dallas players scored in double figures. The Mavericks are now 9-0 when at least six players record 10-plus points. The last time seven Mavericks scored in double figures in back-to-back games was in the 50-point win (128-78) over New York on 1/24/10.

Mavericks guard Jason Terry posted his first double-double of the season with 18 points (5-11 FGs, 2-4 3FGs, 2-2 FTs) and a game-high 11 assists. Mavericks center Brendan Haywood tallied 10 points (2-2 FGs, 6-9 FTs). It marked the first time he’s scored in double figures since the third game of the season (at L.A. Clippers 10/31/10). Dallas is now 2-0 when Haywood scores 10-plus points in a game.

Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, who entered Saturday’s meeting with Atlanta shooting 38.9 percent since returning from injury at Memphis on 1/15/11 (54.5 percent before suffering a right knee sprain at Oklahoma City 12/27/10), shot 6-of-7 from the field to open the game and finished 6-of-8 from the floor in the first half. Nowitzki and Mavericks guard Jason Terry both recorded 12 first-half points to help give Dallas a 52-49 advantage at the break.

Dallas shot 13-of-14 (.929) from the line in the first half, while the Hawks went just 4-for-5 (.800). The Mavericks finished 22-of-27 (.815) from the stripe compared to the Hawks’ 17-of-22 (.773) clip. Dallas trailed by one (78-77) at the end of three, but opened the fourth quarter on a 14-1 blitz to take a 91-79 lead. The Mavericks outscored the Hawks 25-13 in the fourth en route to the win. Atlanta was 25-2 when leading going into the fourth quarter prior to tonight’s game (fourth-best in the NBA). The Mavericks improved to 8-10 when trailing heading into the final period, which is the fifth-best in the league.

Hawks guard Joe Johnson went 8-of-12 from the floor en route to 16 first-half points. He led all scorers through two quarters of play. Johnson finished with a game-high 27 points (13-24 FGs, 1-1 FTs) on the night.

Dallas led by six (41-35) with just over 5 minutes gone by in the second quarter, but Atlanta used a 10-2 run to take a two-point lead (45-43) with 3:50 to play in the period. The Mavericks then outscored the Hawks 9-4 to close the half and led by three (52-49) at intermission.

With the win, Dallas swept the season series and has now won 19 of the last 25 meetings with Atlanta, including 11-of-13 at home against the Hawks.

The Mavericks are now 21-1 when tallying 100-plus points in a game.

The attendance for tonight’s game was 20,309. The Mavs have sold out 384 consecutive regular season games at AAC. Dallas currently owns the longest running sellout streak in the NBA. Dallas has sold out all 41 games in each of the past seven seasons.